STOP-LOSS

The stop loss feature can be used to automatically close a trade in order to limit your losses. It can also be configured to help to lock in profits.

There are two types of stop loss in Cymatic:

Stop Loss linked to Offset Bets

The 'Stop-loss' check box works only in conjunction with Tick-Offset.  After an initial bet is matched, the stop-loss feature can automatically adjust the price of the opposing bet (the offset bet), to close your position when the market price moves too far against you.  The actual trigger price is measured in ticks from the matched price of original bet.  Enter the desired number of ticks in the stop-loss tool, before sending the original bet.

For example, suppose that you matched an initial bet (Back £2 @ 1.95) and that the Tick-Offset feature has sent an opposing bet (Lay £2 @ 1.94).  If you have chosen a stop-Loss trigger value of 3 ticks, then the stop-loss trigger price is 1.98.  So if price moves against you and touches or exceeds 1.98, then your bet (lay) will automatically be moved to 1.98 to close your position for a loss of 3 ticks.

Stop-loss is a global setting that applies to all bets manually entered on the grid or ladder. It does not apply to automated bets placed by the robot, nor to greening bets. Stop-loss is applied to bets when they are sent, so unticking it does not turn it off for bets that have already been sent, they will still use the original stop-loss (unless you cancel them before they are matched). Likewise, ticking stop-loss on will not retrospectively apply a stop-loss to any bets that have already been sent prior to that time.

Independent Stop Loss (right-click on ladder)

An independent stop loss trigger can be placed by right-clicking in the ladder in either of the back or lay columns.  An orange background will appear in the cell, in the same way as for stop losses linked to offset bets.  If the market moves to that trigger price, then a bet will automatically be placed to balance off all your matched trades and thus protect your position on that runner and limit potential losses.  This is different to stop loss bets that are linked to offset bets which only close the position of the single offset bet.

If the overall position of all your bets on that runner has already been balanced by your previous trades, then the stop loss will be ignored and will be removed when the trigger price is reached.  An exception to this is mentioned below in the 'Green' section, which explains the difference between green stakes and level stakes.

It is not advisable to use independent stop loss bets at the same time as stop loss bets linked to offset bets, on the same runner, because if both types of stop losses are triggered at the same time then they could leave you with an imbalanced postion (if they both try to balance the postion at the same time).

Stop-loss settings

Place at +

This enables you to place the stop-loss bet beyond the trigger price (at an even worse price) to try even harder to ensure that it is matched in a fast moving market. The setting represents the number of ticks beyond the trigger price. In the above mentioned example, if you chose a value of 2 (in the box labelled 'Place at +'), then the bet (lay) would be moved to a price of 2.00 when the trigger price of 1.98 is hit.

Trail (Trailing)

This feature keeps moving your stop-loss trigger price each time the market price moves in your favour. This can be useful if the market price moves a long way in your favour and then eventually turns around. Your stop-loss trigger price will have moved with the trend and be closer to the eventual turning point, so it would lock in profit and close your trade nearer to the turning point. Obviously you would need to have chosen a very large tick-offset value to ensure that you give the market room to move in your favour.

Green

Obviously stop loss bets crystalize a loss, so are in fact 'red', but the term 'green' is used because it is generally regarded as meaning the process of creating a balanced position that is the same regardless of the outcome.

The 'Green' check box in the Tools section determines if stop loss bet will have green stakes or a level stakes.  A green stake means that any loss will be spread evenly across all the outcomes, regardless of the result.  A level stake means that all of the loss stays on that runner (you'll escape the loss if that runner losses).  A level stake is calculated to make all your total matched back and lay stakes become equal.

Keep in mind that if you have already greened the runner during earlier trading, then subsequently add a stop loss with level stakes that it will cause the position to stop being green (i.e. the stakes will simply become level if the stop loss is triggered and matched).  Similarly a stop loss placed with a 'green' stake, will attempt to spread the losses evenly, which does not result in 'level' stakes.

When using green stop losses at the same time as PlaceAt+, the stake of a green stop loss bet is calculated based on the vanilla trigger price, rather than the price adjusted with PlaceAt+, in the expectation that it might be matched agressively at the trigger price (a price improvement from the actual submitted price to the triggered price, if available at the exchange).  This means that the resulting position will only be perfectly balanced if the stop loss bet gets matched at the trigger price, otherwise a small imbalance will remain if the stop loss bet is matched at the price adjusted using PlaceAt+.

The Green check box applies all types of stop loss bets and also to offset bets.

Move a stop-loss

When an offset bet has been sent (the lay bet in the above example), its stop-loss price is highlighted on the ladder in orange. Right-click above or below the orange cell to move the stop-loss trigger to a corresponding new price. For trailing stops, the calculation of the trailing distance will not be affected (the original number of ticks will still be maintained). Remember not to left-click in that column by mistake, because it would send a new bet.

An independent stop loss trigger price can also be moved in the same way.

Cancel a stop-loss

To cancel a bet's stop-loss, without cancelling the actual bet, simply right-click on the orange cell. Remember not to left-click in that column by mistake, because it would send a new bet.

An independent stop loss trigger can also be cancelled in the same way.